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Archive for September, 2009

Let’s Give Me Something to Talk About

Posted in Events, Tid Bits, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on September 30, 2009 | 2 Comments »

As promised, I did make it to the 45th Annual Big Book Sale at Fort Mason last weekend, and hobbled out of the pavilion with a dozen novels and a book about local architecture for only $15. But in addition to my reading material, I also bought 10 records for a buck each. Styx, the Police, New Orleans’ Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and Bonnie Raitt, to name a few. The catch? I don’t own a turntable. Oops! (No, I did not buy Styx for the large full color poster inside!)

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I’ve done a preliminary eBay search for a used one, but I’m not sold on anything just yet. The thing is, though, I’m kicking myself for not buying one at a garage sale I stumbled upon in the neighborhood last month. A record player has been on my wish list for sometime, but now with ten records looming in my apartment, the race is on. Until then, I guess the crowd at Encore Karaoke will have to suffer through me singing “Something to Talk About” to help fill the void. If anyone has any leads on an affordable record player in the ‘hood, let me know!

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If You See Something, Say Something

Posted in News, tagged , , on September 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

vRemember the baseball bat robberies last Tuesday? Well, while the police did recover most of the items stolen, a brown leather Valentino messenger bag that belonged to one victim was not returned. It was likely dropped in the Marina or Russian Hill. He posted a lost and found ad on Craigslist looking for it, so let him know if you happen to come across one.

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You’re invited.

Posted in Events, tagged , , on September 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

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Forget Librarians, Cheap Books are Sexy

Posted in Events, tagged , , , , , on September 25, 2009 | 3 Comments »

booksI was browsing in the Russian Hill Bookstore this winter, and I turned to my friend and said idly, “You can never have too many books.” He mocked: “So says the girl with one stack of books.” A little taken back, I defended my singular tower of literature by insisting that I had more in storage. But later, after the staircase wit had settled in, I realized that a “Dude, it’s 2009, we all have Kindles,” might have been more successful.

Nevertheless, I still really do have one lonely stack of books in my apartment, and it’s about time I change that. This week kicked off the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library 45th Annual Big Book Sale at Fort Mason Center’s Festival Pavilion where over 300,000 books, DVDs, CDs, books-on-tape, and vinyl sell for $5 or less. All proceeds from the sale benefit library programs which promote literacy, and just to give you an idea, $265,000 was raised at the ’08 sale. (more…)

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Pastries: Phyllis’s Top Housing Priority

Posted in Restaurants, Tid Bits, tagged , , , , , , on September 24, 2009 | 3 Comments »

phyllispigeonAs it turns out, I’m not the only one being wooed into the Polk Street La Boulange (2310 Polk St. at Green) by that scintillating curio of pastries. A pigeon named Phyllis made herself at home last week in the spacious loft-style windows above the bakery’s entry, and refused to be shooed. Phyllis became such a personality in the café that La Boulange introduced pigeon menu specials via its Twitter account. She was finally detained and released in Golden Gate Park. But, it wasn’t long before another warm-blooded winged vertebrate took up tenancy. Rumor has it his name is Bob Vance.

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Little League Cuts Incite Russian Hill Robberies

Posted in News, tagged , , , , , , on September 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Getting picked last for T-ball hits some harder than others. Around 10 p.m. last night, five men between the ages of 18 and 32 drove around the city on a robbery spree, assaulting five victims with baseball bats and a collapsible baton. Russian Hill was unlucky enough to be the scene of two of four of the robberies, at Polk St. and Union as well as Van Ness Ave. and Union, before the lowlifes were detained near Lombard St. and Fillmore around 2:30 a.m. All five men were charged with robbery, assault and receiving stolen property, and the victims’ things were returned to them.

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A spokesperson from the Little League organization declined to comment. Meanwhile, a representative from the NBTA (National Baton Twirling Association) was pleased to see batons gaining buzz in the media. She said CBS’s news story on the robbery initiated her first Google Alert result on the topic of batons since Tonya Harding’s 1994 attack on Nancy Kerrigan.

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The Life and Times of Candy Selling

Posted in Stores, tagged , , , , on September 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

“When you were a kid, going to the candy store was the highlight of your existence. Candy can take people away from the craziness of the world for a few minutes, and I think people are craving that right now.” — Diane Campbell, owner of the Candy Store (1507 Vallejo St. at Polk)candystorerussianhillAn article in the SF Chronicle suggests that despite a slumping economy, Americans’ appetite for candy is on the up and up. One example is Vallejo Street’s The Candy Store, a mod candy shop with sweets spanning generations aligned in minimalist glass jars. Campbell’s sales “have climbed about 10 percent each year,” the article points out, but mind you the shop also only opened three years ago. (more…)

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See You Next Tuesday . . . at Nick’s Crispy

Posted in Restaurants, tagged , , , on September 23, 2009 | 3 Comments »

Some chick from Examiner named Nick’s Crispy Tacos (1500 Broadway at Polk) one of the five best places for Taco Tuesday in San Francisco, alongside the Park Chalet, the Boardroom, Blue Light, and Rubio’s. Translation: she named all five of the places that have Taco Tuesday specials outside of the tortilla-ridden Mission. Her grounds for this decoration? Nick’s “boasts a college atmosphere with college prices,” — souuunds thrilling. Sorry girl, but Mama’s here for the food.l

While I’m always happy to see Polk Street spots get some love, I must say that Nick’s doesn’t need any idle praise. So long as you arrive before the Chinatown brats strut their heels into Rouge, Taco Tuesday at Nick’s has a lot to offer. Yes, the drinks and the eats cost two bucks, just like the rest of ‘em, but it’s truly a culinary treat. Those thick, salty chips in rich, chunky guacamole, a double-layer of corn tortillas, lime mayonnaise, Baja-style fried fish, and fresh, piquant pico de gallo? It’s practically a recipe for a 7×7 award. Ohh wait.

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A Faded Hardcover Reveals Mad Men-Style Cooking

Posted in Stores, tagged , , , , , , on September 21, 2009 | 1 Comment »

I am not going to lie — well, right now at least. I enjoy stepping onto the escalator at Barnes & Noble, running my fingers across the spines of crisp and shiny tomes, and spending $24.95 on one brand spankin’ new paperback that will inherently lose value as soon as I strut out of the store. I’m not going to wax poetic about how I love the smell of the dusty books in my municipal library stacks. It’s a nice notion, but in reality, aging doesn’t exactly turn me on.madisonavenue

But, but, what I will concede is that used bookstores and libraries are a gold mine of scarce and out-of-print books, books that not even Google knows about, that have never seen the light of Amazon, and that will go on largely forgotten and unpublicized until some heroic blogger (ahem) decides to plug them. We are lucky enough to have one of our own used bookstores in our midst, the Russian Hill Bookstore (2234 Polk at Green).

The shop is the source of the latest addition to my home library, a hilarious cookbook by a ’60s ad man. Want to hear about it? (more…)

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Spotted! Al Capone’s Wife Apt-Hunting in Russian Hill

Posted in Tid Bits, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on September 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

maeRussian Hill is many things for many people — aren’t I profound? But if you are the wife of American gangsta Al Capone, it is one of very few neighborhoods that offers prime views of Alcatraz Island, the grim place where your husband is imprisoned. In 1934, Mae Capone, who was the wife of said notorious bootlegger, knew this very fact, and thus she went apartment-hunting in Russian Hill.
From its archives, the Chronicle pulled some real estate gossip from Sept. 23, 1934, nearly 75 years ago today:

Mrs. Al Capone is apartment hunting in San Francisco. And she has selected as the district for her future home – well for the next seven years, anyway – the brow of Russian Hill. From her new apartment window – if she gets one – Mrs. Capone will be able to glance across at the grim island fortress of Alcatraz Island where her husband is imprisoned with the rest of America’s “public enemies.”

Want to see more of this antique realty buzz? (more…)

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